Monday, September 19, 2011

Don't you just love it when you're stuck in a dreary coking rut and then an inspiring food item appears in your greedy little hands, unbidden? I can't think of a better surprise, and that's exactly what happened to me not once, but twice last week. I am not superstitious as a rule, but I think I had no choice but to take this as a sign from the culinary gods (or devils, as the case may be) to get cooking already. And so I did.
The first occurrence of divine ingredient intervention occurred when one of Poppa Trix's co-workers gave him some finger limes to bring home for me. (I am saving the other instance for a future post.) Turns out said co-worker actually reads little old Trix, and thought I would put them to good use. I hope I have not disappointed here!

Finger limes come from Australia, and if you're not familiar with them (they are hard to get in these parts) imagine limes about the size of your thumb, filled with little caviar like spheres of citrus that pop in your mouth when you bite down:

It's like candy for grown ups.

Citrus and shellfish are a natural pairing, so I decided to make a crab salad. But not just any crab: Chesapeake Blue Crab, some of the sweetest and most succulent crab there is. You could certainly substitue other high-quality crabs, like Dungeness for example, but imitation crab is NOT acceptable. I am sorry to be so strict, but there it is. Imitation crab isn't crab after all ... as its name implies, it is imitation. And while that may be the sincerest form of flattery, as far as this salad goes it is also the purest form of yuk.

Normally I am a three alarm kind of gal when it comes to heat, but I gave this salad a gentle heat - gentle because I definitely didn't want to overpower my delicate crab meat. And, because I couldn't decide how I wanted to plate it, I did it three ways, as you can see in the photos above. This would be a great dish to serve at a dinner party - the crab may be expensive, but if you serve it as an appetizer or amuse bouche, it will go a long way.

Subtly Spicy Crab Salad

1 pound jumbo lump crab meat

1/2 red pepper, small dice

stalks of 3 green onions, sliced in rings

4 tablespoons mayonaisse

1 tablespoon lemon juice

juice of 1/2 lime

3 tablespoons orange juice

2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce

1/4 teaspoon hot sauce (I used Matouk's)

1 avocado, diced and sprinkled with lime juice

1/4 red onion, small dice

a few handfulls of arugula

drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

3-4 finger limes

salt and pepper to taste

Gently fold together the crab, red pepper, and green onion. Set aside. Whisk together the next 7 ingredients, salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle over the crab mixture and gently fold in until the crab is just coated with the sauce. Toss the avocado and the onion together. Now it's time to plate! If you'd like an amuse, simply place a few pieces of avocado on an appetizer spoon and top with a bit of crab and finger lime caviar. If you're serving this as an appetizer, put a swipe of sauce on a plate and, using a ring mold, lay down avocado, then crab, then finger limes:

Or, if it's just you and the S.O. and you're not trying to impress anyone, lay a nice pile of avocado, crab, and finger limes on a bed of arugula that you've lightly tossed with olive oil, and chow down:

Having eaten everything you see here, I can tell you that all three versions are equally delicious. There's sweetness, heat, umami, and that fun little pop! of tangy citrus from the finger lime caviar to finish it all off. Thank you Poppa Trix's co-worker - I hope I have inspired you in turn.

28 comments:

I love these! I've only seen them once before and would love to get my hands on some as they are hyper-useable. I love what you did with them here Trix! My bouche hasn't been amused like this in quite a long time!

And here I thought it was a kind of caviar!! How funny. Yes, I know of those limes but have never seen one in person. The concept is brilliant.

I was in a seafood salad state of mind on the weekend and made a lobster roll.. this is a great combo too... love crab and avocado and all that lovely citrus... and those pictures... take my breath away!!

Wow, those finger limes are so COOL, I want some. And I agree about the fake crab....I would never dare use it for a beautiful recipe like this one. So I don,t do crab because it is not affordable here :-(

Wow, the insides of these finger limes look like translucent caviar, how amazing! I've never had them, but I believe the popping effect can also be ahem, 'imitated' by pomelo segments. Now, pomelo I can certainly find on my doorstep. Love all your ingredients for this dish, the one-alarm heat suits me well and I'd happily wolf down all three versions by myself!

Oh my goodness, what a fantastic find - finger limes! I am super jealous that you found them, I don't think we get them in South Africa! What a beautiful use of such a unique ingredient... would love to eat all three versions!

beautiful salad and I would give my right ____ to experience those limes. Living on the gulf with our blue crabs and having had Chesapeake crab meat, I beg to differ on taste, but then, you know how bias I am.....

Oh. If I had a right _________, I think I would give it up as well :-)A dish like that would help one to forget that fall just came ramming through the door (and that winter is the one shoving it through...)

Gorgeous (as always)! Those finger limes are OUT OF CONTROL! So cool...never seen anything like them. Don't you love it when people give you food? My hubby came home with 4 fresh crabs the other night -- just out of the water and cleaned...what a treat that was...Theresa

Poppa Trix's co-worker is VERY pleased and thinks that Poppa eats much better than co-worker. If anyone wants to know where to order these, you can get them at Shanley Farms through around December (much cheaper than other places!): http://www.shanleyfarms.com/

Wow Trixie!! My mouth is watering so much I have to keep drinking my water. At first glance I thought the Finger limes were cocktail pickles, then I thought it was caviar. What an adorable ingredient and what a lovely gift. Can't wait to see what else you do with them. Yum!

I have been savoring the last hot rays of sun here in Serbia, and this salad would be perfect (alas, we are pretty far away from any coast, and the choice of good seafood is not that great).I am so intrigued by the finger limes - the translucent spheres are adorable! And my favorite candy is of the sour kind:)(I have been waging a war here trying to convince some of my friends that white and red strips of fish are NOT crab - I used to use it only in a soup, but never in a salad).

How random is this? I was foodgawking and saw your post. I immediately wanted to know more about those finger limes. Turns out we have one of the very rare growers in my OWN city! Crazy. Meant to be that I make this and will probably be falling in love with these limes. Thank you or I wouldn't have even known what was hiding in my own backyard!